CPU Price Chart - September 16, 2001

Notes and Recommendations: Intel has launched a full attack on AMD by drastically lowering Pentium 4 prices and introducing 1.9 and 2.0 GHz versions of the chip. In business applications the P4 2 GHz runs neck-to-neck with the Athlon 1.4 GHz, but has a distinct advantage in raw processing power shown especially in 3D games. Note that, however, the Athlon 1.4 GHz is priced at a super-low $130, $30 lower than even the P4 1.4 GHz which quite a bit slower. Couple the fact that in order to take full advantage of the P4 it needs the much more expensive Rambus DRAM, the Athlon is still the best choice performance/value wise- for now.

Best high-end, best-bang-for-the-buck CPU for this time: AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz

Best value-based, best-bang-for-the-buck CPU for this time: AMD Duron 850 MHz